Update Time

Well, I haven't blogged in a while, so I figured it was about time to knock out a chunk of writing.

Everything is going ok here, pretty normal Iraq stuff - - we have been focusing on how the National Police will be paying the Sons of Iraq next month. November is the first month that the Government of Iraq is responsible for paying the SOI. There about 2500 SOIs in our area in about 20 groups, none of these groups are regimented in any sort of way, and the leadership consists of a leader and a pack of Sofwah (the nickname for an SOI soldier - - it loosely means Awakening, which was the name of the Sunni uprising against insurgents that coincided with the surge of US troops). Traditionally, the SOI is the bottom of the pack and they were paid by the US. On 1 OCT 08 the responsibility for the SOI got turned over to the Government of Iraq, so, now they are officially part of the security structure of the nation. The National Police Brigade I am working with now has the responsibility for the care and feeding of about 2,500 more people. This will be an interesting next couple of months.

The SOI basically act as eyes and ears in the neighborhoods, they are armed and can solve some small problems, but mostly they have to call the National Police for help if something arises. They do provide a great deal of information, but they are a challenge administratively and logistically. The general I work with is working very hard to make sure the SOI are integrated in everything that is related to security, and that is what I have been helping him with. It is definitely not kicking down doors, clearing rooms, firefights with the bad guys or arresting evil-doers, but it is important to the overall security of Iraq.

Other Iraq news:

Yesterday was IED number 2 in the area, which is a very low number across Iraq, but is still the second one in 10 days. It was another smaller IED, targeted at US forces, the IED pretty much scratched up the paint on a Mine Resistant, Anti-Ambush, Protected (MRAP) vehicle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRAP armored_vehicle ), but not much else, no injuries and the vehicle drove away. The National Police Brigade has taken this very seriously, any threat to the coalition is a threat to them, so they are combing through the neighborhoods and gathering as much information as they can. They have some pretty good suspects (good enough to get warrants issued by the judge) on the first one, it just takes time to scoop folks up.

Chai update:

Chai comes in waves - - the first wave is normally the first glass of tea, very strong, lots of sugar. The glasses the general uses to entertain with are about the size of shot glasses, so, not a lot content, but it packs a punch. If you are in the office for more than 30 minutes, a second round of chai comes out. Of course I have a pretty good buzz going after two glasses (I normally don't use a lot of caffeine, but when in Rome . . . ). If the meeting goes on over an hour, the heavy stuff comes out - - Arabic coffee. Imagine the left over coffee after the coffeepot has been on the burner for a week or so, that is how strong Arabic coffee is, about the same flavor too, very bitter. The general really likes it, so I suck some down. The serving size is very small, it barely covers the bottom of the cup, so I just slug it down. After two glasses of tea and cup of coffee, the Chai High is rocking. I have learned that if I don't want any more coffee I should just jiggle the cup when Chai Refill Man comes around. I kind of like the tea, but not the coffee.

Iraqi food:

For those of you wondering about dining with the natives - - the food is pretty good, but the next week or so is pretty rough. I think the Iraqis know this so they time inviting us to lunch so that they can prolong the gastronomic agony. About every week or so there is an occasion to eat some chow with the Iraqis, as a guest, I can't really turn it down. From now on though, I will follow some simple rules: Well cooked meats, no dairy products or creams, no vegetables, some rice and all the baklava I can eat. I have found a way to get them back though - - apparently American food has the same effect on Iraqis, so I make it a point to invite the general and his commanders to the chow hall as often as possible. I will let you know who confesses to the plot first.

Husker update:

5-3, pretty good record compared to last year. I am able to track the games on rivals.com, mostly follow the stats and plays as the web site updates. I am hoping that the Nebraska vs. oklahoma game is televised here, I may be able to watch some of it if it is on AFN. My sister swears she is going to send me the Baylor game on disc, I will make everyone watch it because they are for the most part Husker haters.